1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to polymer composites comprising silicone ionomers.
2. Background of the Art
Several approaches have been developed to combine silicones with non-silicone polymers to form a single polymeric composition. The approach closest to the present invention includes silicone-based interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) and their variants. This method comprises the juxtaposition of two or more distinct polymer chains in the form of a network, such that the resulting material has properties shown by all of its constituents. The following are examples of state of art describing silicone-based IPNs:
European Patent application (EP1840167 A1) describes a transparent gel and contact lens based on the same, comprising of an interpenetrating network between a polycarbonate-modified polydiorganosiloxane and a hydrophilic curable monomer.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,687,585 describes a method of preparing silicone-based IPN by swelling the polymer with a monomer dissolved in a low surface tension solvent (e.g. supercritical CO2), precipitating the monomer via solvent removal and subsequently crosslinking the monomer within the silicone framework.
The U.S. Pat. No. 6,331,578 also describes a silicone-acrylate IPN made by sequential polymerization of PDMS, imbibition with acrylate monomer, and crosslinking the same to form a penetrating network.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,469,499 covers interpenetrating networks in which the constituent polymers are held together by ionic attractions between the participating sites. The objects of this invention are thermosets at a certain temperature, above which they show thermoplastic behavior.
While the above examples independently describe polydiorganosiloxane-based IPNs or IPNs based on ionic interactions between the two polymers, they fail to mention ionically modified polydiorganosiloxanes as one of the IPN constituents. Thus, the silicone ionomers that are a component of the present invention are a significant feature of the invention.
The present invention seeks to combine silicone ionomers with other polymers to provide polymer composite compositions. The resulting polymer composition possesses properties that are additive or synergistic of the properties of the participating reactants. On account of these properties, the composites can be used in different applications such as healthcare, personal care, automotive, construction, apparel, sporting goods, electrical and electronic applications, textile applications, oil and gas and household goods and articles.